Advies inzake de ontwerpbeginselen van de International Law Commission over bescherming van het milieu in relatie tot gewapend conflict

The CAVV expresses its appreciation both of the draft principles drawn up by the International Law Commission (ILC) on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts and of the exceptionally thorough preparatory analysis. In this connection the CAVV attaches great importance to the temporal approach chosen by the ILC, which gives the principles added value compared with other initiatives. What is more, the dynamic integrated approach demonstrates the relevance of areas of law other than the law of armed conflict when it comes to the protection of the environment during armed conflict.

This advisory report also identifies some areas for improvement, such as the need to clarify the applicable law during an armed conflict in the case of certain principles. This recommendation pertains, in particular, to the applicability of environmental treaties and the standard for impermissible environmental damage.

The CAVV believes that the ILC study provides a valuable contribution to the consolidation and development of international law and accordingly advises the Minister of Foreign Affairs to endorse these principles.